


Delicate

by baeconandeggs, ripefruityeolda



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Busking, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gay is normal, Hongdae Busking, Hongdae Dance Group, Hongdae Singing Group, Light Angst, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-19 22:49:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18979942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ripefruityeolda/pseuds/ripefruityeolda
Summary: It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this.





	Delicate

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** BAE056  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.  
>   
> 
> **Author's Note:** First of all I just want to say thank you to the prompter for giving me so much space to move around with the prompt, which is why if this isn't what you expected, I AM SO SORRY, i tried to keep it within this 'idol' universe but idk it wasn't working for me for some reason and because i was always around hongdae these past few weeks, the idea just came to me that oh shit mAYBE I SHOULD (also inspired by the group Kingdoms bc hellO fanservice), cause even after 2-3 trials for the first plot it wasn't doing it for me. so I had to somehow change it. 
> 
> Secondly to my most wonderful BETA: N!!!! Hello!! Now that the story is finished I just want to let you know that I became so fond of talking to you and was always excited to hear your feedback or your take on things. Thank you so much for EVERYTHING LITERALLY, I can't believe you managed to beta for someone as incompetent as me even with your busy schedule; I. CAN'T. THANK. YOU . ENOUGH. This story would have gone to shit if it weren't for you. Thank you for pushing me to keep going every time I felt like giving up. I just— thank you for everything, I will always keep you in my heart. you are the kindest soul I've ever come across and I'm glad I met you. I love u!!!
> 
> Lastly, to the mods who were so patient with me with all the extensions I asked for and having my entry come in so late. i am so sorry for all the headache I may have caused you guys. I deeply apologize and of course thank you for hosting this fest once again for all of us to enjoy. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. 
> 
> (also btw this is my first time entering so please be nice to me I am fragile)
> 
> Here's a playlist you can listen to: [PLAYLIST](https://open.spotify.com/user/cveui47hhvmvidfb24qxq5573/playlist/5GyXi0xTGa2vEJgEVq4O4v)
> 
> I am so sorry for the long ass note but, now I present to you, delicate.

The streets of Hongdae were filled with diverse people bumping into each other whilst minding their own business. It was a busy day—tourists were flooding the streets left and right as they watched the different busking performances around them. A set of speakers boomed with the heavy beats of a popular song resonating throughout the whole vicinity, attracting more and more people to watch and cheer on the performers. 

 

As Six Dimensions prepare their equipment for their busking performance, Baekhyun stands in the middle of the mess, fidgeting with the sleeves of his oversized dress shirt, trying to ease his nerves. His hands were sweating and he felt like he couldn't breathe—his breathing starting to stagger as he tried to take a step towards Chanyeol. He wasn't usually like this; he liked the attention he got from the few people that consistently came to watch them and yet today, he felt like his heart would burst out from his chest from all the anxiety of his upcoming solo performance.

 

Today, they're going to try something new. Baekhyun was tasked to perform an interactive dance with the audience to attract more attention in hopes of getting more funds for their group; they needed better sound equipment and a dance studio to rent and practice in for an upcoming contest in their school’s festival. 

 

Baekhyun’s thoughts ran back and forth as he stared at the ground, with a pale face, dripping with cold sweat trying to hide the tremble of his hands beneath the blue and white striped cuffs of his oversized button up.

 

“Hey Baekhyun, are you okay?” Chanyeol asks as he noticed Baekhyun stuck in a weird trance. 

 

“Huh? Uh, yeah I’m fine, just a little nervous.” Baekhyun sighs and rubs his arms in frustration.

 

“Hey hey, don’t worry too much about it. We’ll be here with you. I’m sure you’ll be amazing as always.” Chanyeol cups his cheeks and squishes them together.

 

“I mean I know I’m gonna do well, but like, what if they don’t like it, like holy shit I might not be able to find the will to perform if that happens.” Baekhyun rambles distractedly.

 

Chanyeol chuckles, looking fondly at his agitated friend, “Calm down, don’t let yourself get lost in those thoughts of yours. Just perform and do what you know and love to do. Okay?” 

 

Baekhyun releases a defeated sigh and proceeds to bury his face against the taller’s chest. “Fine, but you all owe me one.”

 

..

 

After assembling the equipment, Sehun calls for everyone to gather around to start their routine.

 

“Alright, we all know our roles for tonight, I know we’ll be amazing.” Sehun says, looking at each of the members.

 

“Oh, and Baekhyun-hyung, good luck.” Sehun winks and proceeds to hand the microphone to Chanyeol to get a headstart with gathering people around. 

 

Before Chanyeol leaves Baekhyun’s side, he hugs the smaller shortly as a sign of comfort to ease the anxiety he has for his performance. “You’ll do great, don’t worry about it.” With a final smile, Chanyeol detaches from the smaller’s clutch and walks over to the center of their performing space. 

 

“Good evening everyone! I am Chanyeol the mc for the night, I guess. We have brand new performances in store for all of you so I hope you stay with us for those!" Chanyeol greets the audience with enthusiasm as he sees people slowly trickling towards their area. He then introduces Baekhyun as the first performer of the night and leaves his position for Baekhyun to take place.

 

Baekhyun takes the mic from Chanyeol and introduces himself, “Hey guys, this is Baekhyun and tonight I’ve prepared something new for all of you.” The crowd cheers after hearing that, clapping excitedly. 

 

After they’ve settled down, Baekhyun continues to talk. “I need someone to volunteer though. Who would like to help me with this tonight?” The dancer chuckles, shyly scratching the nape of his neck.

 

“Anyone willing?” He asks the audience and looks around, waiting for someone to volunteer. “Pretty pleaaase. I’ll promise to do my best for you.” Baekhyun flashes his blinding smile at them which extracts a few coos from the crowd.

 

Until someone from behind speaks up, “I’ll do it.” Baekhyun’s breath hitches in his throat and he whips his head around to look at the person who spoke to him. 

 

His eyes widen to see Chanyeol beaming at him with his hand raised just a tiny bit. “No one wants to volunteer so I’ll do it for you.”

 

The audience release a combination of oohs and squeals directed towards the interaction of the two people in front and cheers on both of the dancers to go ahead with the performance.

 

Baekhyun chuckles at the tall man in front of him. “Alright mister, sit right here and I’ll show all of you what your missing out on.” Baekhyun winks at the audience then gets into position. He nods towards Jongin's direction to cue the music and as the opening for  _ Gashina _ starts, the crowd's shouts become deafening. He breathes in and all his worries dissipate with his exhales. He stares at Chanyeol seductively and dives towards his crotch, moving back up as Sunmi sings the first few lines of the song. He starts dancing the choreography he’s worked so hard on, giving his all and putting on the best show for their audience of the night. 

 

There were a few instances that he would see Chanyeol getting a little flustered from his dance but he didn't give it much thought and carried on with moving his body to the beat of the song. With the last few lines of the song, Baekhyun circles around Chanyeol and grabs the back of his neck to bring his face closer to his, ending the performance with a bewitching smile and their noses pressed together, lips hovering over each other with loud gasps of air from the adrenaline and the exhaustion of the dance. 

 

The crowd didn't back down from their screams as the dance ended. As excruciatingly painful it was for Chanyeol to be part of such a seductive routine, Baekhyun just released a chuckle of relief, his eyes turning into moon crescents while dropping his hold on Chanyeol. 

 

The taller of the two was left flustered and red after the performance, forced to laugh off his muddled brain, somewhat finding relief for him and Baekhyun that the dance has ended. 

 

Baekhyun smiles and bows to the crowd. Sehun hands him a mic to talk for a little and engage with the audience “Did you like that?” Baekhyun asks and receives different variations of yes. 

 

“Would any of you like to witness that again and be part of it?”  

 

"Yes!!" The crowd simultaneously scream.

 

Baekhyun laughs at the wild enthusiasm. "I told you all it would be good, next time be good to me and help me out alright?”  

 

After receiving a few nods Baekhyun smiles brightly again, turning towards Chanyeol. “Oh, and of course, let’s not forget to thank our very special volunteer today—Mr. Park Chanyeol!”

 

The audience applauds the tall man and Chanyeol just shyly bows. He takes the mic from Baekhyun and starts to speak, “That was um, wow Baekhyun.” Chanyeol releases a short laugh and looks over at the shorter male. 

 

“That really was something wasn’t it, I practice with him all the time but that was—wow.” Chanyeol speaks in a daze to which the audience laughs and eagerly claps. Rushing to get rid of the embarrassment, Chanyeol quickly introduces the next performers. 

 

“Now it’s time for Sehun, Kai, Xiumin and Lay to perform a little something for us with Taemin’s  _ Move _ !" 

 

… 

 

On the lot performing next to six dimensions, are Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Junmyeon- the vocalists among the friends. Jongdae and Junmyeon are currently having a duet. At that time, Kyungsoo was in the background, managing the sound system while sneaking peeks at the dancers next to them. 

 

Kyungsoo has had a long time crush on six dimensions’ dancer Jongin—or Kai as he would like to call himself when performing. He’s been crushing on the guy ever since they first met, he was just so charming and wonderful and so dedicated to his craft—it was impossible not to love him. He would have admitted his feelings by now if it weren't for his usual dance partner and maybe love interest—Sehun.   

 

While Kyungsoo was drowning in his internal frustrations, his ears perk up at the sound of Chanyeol’s voice announcing the next performers.  _ Jongin is dancing _ he thinks to himself. He walks closer to the increasing crowd of people huddled together to watch the performance. 

 

As the group walks to their positions, Kyungsoo arrives just in time, cozying himself beside Baekhyun. “Hi Baek,” he says as he hugs the latter, trying to contain his excitement.

“Hey Soo, how are you?” Baekhyun greets him back. Kyungsoo just shrugs, “I’m good."

 

Once the performance starts, Kyungsoo squeals internally. "He's such a good dancer..." He whispers in amazement. 

 

Baekhyun chuckles at his friend and nods agreeingly. "He's good at what he does." 

 

Kyungsoo just takes his time appreciating the view when suddenly Sehun and Jongin are left alone in the middle, closely grinding against each other, swaying their hips seductively; perfectly immersed in the duet making the crowd go wild. Kyungsoo’s breath gets caught in his throat and his heart squeezes in pain. That’s right, he’s not supposed to feel this way. Jongin’s taken. 

 

So with that thought in mind, he releases his hold from Baekhyun and walks back to their side of the street. Feeling defeated, he sighs and shakes his head, trying to erase the negative thoughts in his mind. 

 

…

 

After the  _ Move _ cover performance, Sehun, Jongin, Minseok, and Yixing all form a straight line to bow at the audience, with heavy pants and beads of sweat forming over their foreheads, they send  their gratitude to everyone with multiple thank you's and blown kisses. 

 

“Now we’re down to our last performance everyone.” Chanyeol starts and the audience all start to whine in protest. 

 

“I know it’s sad but we still have classes to attend to tomorrow, and of course we’ll be back after that so don’t worry.” Chanyeol smiles brightly at the audience. “This is Seventeen’s _Don’t Wanna_ _Cry_.” 

 

The music starts and everyone gets into position. Mastering Seventeen's choreography took a while but it all paid off when they all started dancing together perfectly in sync. 

 

Since  _ Seventeen _ has a lot of members six dimensions had to make up for it by improvising with some of the steps but still creating a wonderful result which made the fans around them squeal. 

 

Their group was known as one of the most popular dancing groups in Hongdae because they always came through every night with their jaw dropping performances; oozing with so much passion and talent in their craft that it attracted a lot of supporters. Even people from other countries that would visit the Busking streets tend to be amazed by their performances.

 

After their final performance, everyone cheered, hyped from the most thrilling act so far that night. Each of the members smiled at each other proudly and bowed with utmost sincerity to the crowd. 

 

With the final announcement that their set for the night was finished, they all said their goodbyes and thanked everyone for coming and showing interest to their group, hoping to see them tomorrow once again. 

 

As their group start to pack up for the night, Baekhyun approaches Chanyeol from behind who was crouched down fixing the wiring of the speakers. 

 

“Thank you, Chanyeol.” He says as he buries his face between Chanyeol’s shoulder blades. 

 

And Chanyeol—being the skittish person he is and so focused on getting things done—jumps in surprise, making Baekhyun fall on his ass which causes him to groan in pain. 

 

“Ouch.” Baekhyun pouts. 

 

“Oh shit, Baek, I’m sorry.” Chanyeol says and immediately helps Baekhyun up. 

 

Baekhyun dusts off his butt and waves off Chanyeol’s apology. “It’s fine, I should've known you would get startled like that.” He laughs. 

 

“Yeah, still though, sorry.” Chanyeol rubs the back of his neck and looks down at his feet.

 

Baekhyun releases another chuckle then starts to speak. “Anyways, I just wanted to properly thank you for what you did earlier.” 

 

The smaller blushes and looks down at his feet. “It was no problem at all.” Chanyeol smiles, his heart tight against his chest.

 

Baekhyun looks up with his pretty eyes and stares into Chanyeol’s wide ones. Both were caught in a daze when Jongin suddenly comes over and pats their backs, “C’mon guys let’s get a move on” which snaps them out of their trance and quickly get back to packing up the sound system. 

 

…

 

With their own equipment packed, they head over to the lot next to them to help out the others in packing up their stuff. 

 

“You guys were amazing as usual,” Jongdae starts and walks over to Minseok to hug his boyfriend. 

 

“Like you guys weren’t,” Minseok rolls his eyes as they both laugh at each other's comments.

 

“Let’s get going guys, some of us have morning classes.” This time Yixing speaks while yawning, looking exhausted from the performances they did that night.

 

They all nod in silent agreement with their friend, equally as exhausted and drained from the rush of adrenaline they had experienced earlier. 

 

When they arrived at the bus stop, Kyungsoo grabs Yixing’s arms to guide the sleepy man back to their apartment. “Alright, let’s go. Yixing and I will go ahead now. You guys get home safely, okay?” He says while thoughtfully nodding to everyone. 

 

“You guys take care too.” Jongin says as he looks towards Kyungsoo’s direction. 

 

“Will do, thanks.” Kyungsoo nods with gratitude before waving goodbye and turning away from his friends with Yixing in tow.

 

“Hey Myeonnie, you sleeping over tonight?” Minseok asks the singer. 

 

“Uh yeah if that’s alright with you. I don't think my parents would be happy to see me come home at this time of the night, especially from Hongdae.” He chuckles.

 

“Of course, it’s no problem at all.” Minseok smiles at the man and looks over to his boyfriend.

 

“We’ll be going now babe, our bus is here.” He smiles and kisses him chastely on the lips.

 

“Goodnight, I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.” Minseok says as he walks away from Jongdae to ride the bus.

 

“Goodnight! I love you too. I’ll call you later.” Jongdae answers sweetly as he bids his boyfriend goodbye.

 

“Take care!” Sehun calls out as both Minseok and Junmyeon ride the bus.

 

After the last of the people who were slightly farther away from Hongdae have gone, the lot that were left started walking to their apartments as it was close to the bus stop they were at. 

 

Sehun and Jongin are discussing a part of their new routine they want to change; Jongdae is immersed in his own world talking to Minseok on the phone; which leaves Chanyeol and Baekhyun to themselves, walking in comfortable silence side by side and occasionally bumping against each other until Baekhyun speaks. “Hey Chanyeol. I just thought of something that could work.”

 

“Huh? For what?” Chanyeol asks, confusion written all over his face.

 

“For a new performance I mean.” Baekhyun clarifies. 

 

“Oh. What do you have in mind?” 

 

Baekhyun nervously plays with his fingers. “I don’t know, I just noticed that the people seemed to like my performance with you earlier, maybe we could come up with something spicier. I’ve seen the red crew do this before.” 

 

“What are you suggesting?” Chanyeol raises his eyebrow at his smaller friend.

 

“Uh well, um. What are your opinions on kissing?” 

 

…

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun discuss their new gimmick for next week the following day. Jongdae walks in the middle of their discussion, gathers the gist of the conversation, and smirks to himself. 

 

Baekhyun looks up to see the smug look painted across Jongdae’s face. “What are you smiling about?”

 

Jongdae looks at Baekhyun, then with a funny lilt to his voice, he says, “Me? What? Nothing. I’m just here minding my own business, is all.” He chuckles knowingly.

 

Clueless, Baekhyun and Chanyeol look at their odd friend warily before proceeding to map out their new choreography.

 

Once afternoon came, Chanyeol and Baekhyun met up right after their classes to practice some of the parts they prepared for their dance.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Baekhyun asks the taller.

 

Chanyeol clears his throat. “Yeah of course. It would be great publicity for the group.” 

 

Baekhyun nods, reassured. “Alright then, let’s do this.”

 

The pair decided to perform with Pentagon’s  _ Shine _ since it had a lighthearted tune that would catch the audience off guard once they kiss. 

 

After a few hours of practicing, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are left exhausted from learning the choreography so they opt to put off the rehearsal and rest for the day as they had another performance that night at Hongdae.

 

…

 

The rest of the week came in like a blur; from attending classes, to practicing endlessly, and showing up at their nightly performances at Hongdae, the thought of the kiss hadn't even bothered to cross their minds, being so occupied with all the activities they had on their plate. 

 

During the day of the performance, Baekhyun showed little to no apprehension on their newly prepared performance unlike last week with his  _ Gashina.  _ Baekhyun felt a little more relaxed because he knew he would be performing with Chanyeol.

 

The giant on the other hand was filled with nerves; he was jumpy and fidgety the whole day at the thought of having to kiss his best friend in front of the crowd. 

 

“You ready?” Baekhyun asks, nudging Chanyeol with his elbow.

 

“Uh, yeah, I am. Does everyone else know about our stunt?” 

 

Baekhyun shrugs at the taller’s question. “No, I guess only Jongdae’s aware but I’m not too sure. As long as the others do their parts, we’ll be fine. We’ll make it a surprise.” He says, laughing and winking at his tall friend.

 

“Alright then.” Chanyeol replies, letting out small uneasy laughs.

 

…

 

After the full introductions and a solo opening number, Jongin finally approaches the speakers to play  _ Shine _ . 

 

The routine starts off as they practiced. They all smile at each other, actually enjoying the energetic feel of the song and the loud dance moves that come with it. but as soon as the last pre chorus arrives, Chanyeol’s heart starts to beat hard against his chest. He knew what was coming and it was coming fast; Baekhyun was smiling from the opposite side as he gradually approached the taller, all the while moving in tune to the song.  Chanyeol's hands start to get clammy and the smile on his face slowly grows tense.

 

Before he knew it, Baekhyun was grabbing his hand and dragging him to the center—just as they had initially planned. Kino’s voice blasted from the speakers as Baekhyun slowly pulls Chanyeol closer by the nape, their noses nuzzled against each other and their lips a breath away. Chanyeol’s head was spinning from their proximity, until finally, Baekhyun presses their lips together in a chaste kiss. 

 

Chanyeol's mind completely blanks out as soon as he feels Baekhyun's lips press against his, immediately feeling himself get lost in the sensation despite the kiss being quick . He felt breathless and so alive at the same time. Why was he feeling this way? 

 

Once their lips detach, Chanyeol finds himself dumbfounded. Then, he could finally hear the crowd’s cheers louder than ever once he got a hold of himself again. The members were taken aback by the stunt they pulled, shaking their heads and sharing laughs with each other but still carrying on with their dance. Chanyeol played it off with a playful nonchalance and continued to do the steps as they practiced multiple times. 

 

Even as the dance had ended, Chanyeol still couldn't take his mind off the soft feel of Baekhyun's lips on his and the...  _ things  _  he suddenly felt that he couldn't quite name. In the end, Chanyeol felt like he was completely detached from himself as the night went on, and found himself sneaking glances every now and then at a blissfully unaware Baekhyun.

 

...

  
  


With the following weeks that came and the rising popularity of their _Shine_ performance—which they had decided to permanently put on their set—Baekhyun started to become even more touchy with Chanyeol. The touchiness didn't end with their performances though—even as they were away from the public eye, Baekhyun would just start cuddling Chanyeol out of nowhere; hugging, biting, and leaving soft kisses wherever his lips could reach. 

 

And Chanyeol—being the soft person that he is and too busy drowning in giddy bliss from the attention—just allows Baekhyun to do whatever he wants around him. 

 

One afternoon, as the pair were both cuddled up in bed, Baekhyun was casually playing with the giant’s hands; pressing them against his own and sizing them up against his long, dainty fingers. Lost in each other’s thoughts, Chanyeol suddenly speaks, “Hey Baek?”

 

“Hm?” Baekhyun hums softly. 

 

“I—nothing.” Chanyeol sighs dismissively.

 

Baekhyun lifts his head from Chanyeol’s chest to look at the taller. “C’mon, what is it?” he prods, resting his chin on top of the other’s chest to and holding their eye contact.

 

“I don’t know, I’m just… scared.” Chanyeol says as he lays his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, slowly caressing the soft skin against the palm of his hand with closed eyes.

 

“Scared of what?” Baekhyun says almost in a whisper.

 

“Losing everything.” Chanyeol breathes as he feels his heart clench.

 

“Why would you think that?” Baekhyun moves closer to Chanyeol’s face. 

 

“Everything’s just too perfect now. Too perfect to be real.” Finally, Chanyeol opens his eyes and finds Baekhyun hovering over his lips.

 

Before Baekhyun could even respond to Chanyeol’s gloomy thoughts, Chanyeol closes the space between them, pressing his lips to Baekhyun’s with a hint of urgency, taking the smaller by surprise at the sudden—and brazen—act. 

 

When Baekhyun pulls away, Chanyeol silently curses at himself.  _ What the hell was he thinking? _ He completely freezes, scared to see Baekhyun’s reaction, so he averts his attention to the ceiling.

 

Before he could even spare another second to think of his actions, Baekhyun suddenly bursts into laughter and buries his face into the crook of Chanyeol’s neck, leaving a small peck right against the column of it. 

 

“Tell me next time, and don’t rush.” Baekhyun chuckles fondly as he leaves another kiss on Chanyeol’s cheek, leaving the giant a speechless, blushing mess. 

…

 

Their…  _ relationship _ after The Kiss (as Chanyeol so calls it) takes a noticeable change after that. For starters, Baekhyun had no qualms with holding his hand more freely now, and he always made sure to make Chanyeol blush with his flirtatious teases and butt patting (which first happened during one of their performances—Chanyeol still remembers the squeals of their fans when he continued to blush 'til the end). 

 

Chanyeol then had taken to waiting for Baekhyun after classes so they could walk home together. On days when Chanyeol would be the one to get out late, he'd always see Baekhyun waiting for him by the gates with a smile and a quick peck on the lips before they started their walk home—complete with hand-holding, of course.

 

Days where they had nothing to do were mostly spent cuddling on the couch and watching whatever movie Baekhyun was in the mood for, which turned into them making jokes out of the characters and Chanyeol's heart hammering whenever Baekhyun giggled at his jokes, and then sneaking little kisses on each other's lips. It's during one of their movie nights that Chanyeol reckons that Baekhyun might have a thing for his butt, considering he always had a hand on it. He doesn't mind though, not when he always finds himself playing with Baekhyun's fingers and pressing his lips to his fingertips.

 

On a particular Saturday night, after their weekly rehearsal, the group of friends decide to gather at Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol’s apartment to just hang out and have some drinks together.

 

As bottles of beer and soju are passed around,  the movie slowly becomes forgotten and fades into background noise as they instead focus on telling stories  and retelling them as for the case of a drunken Jongin going on and on about his elementary adventures with Sehun.

 

Kyungsoo was seated next to Minseok, talking about something else entirely as he tries to ignore how loud Jongin talks about his and Sehun’s childhood. Glaring at the childlike behavior Jongin was showing,  Kyungsoo sighs just as Baekhyun stands up from his seat and announces that he's going to the kitchen

 

“Beer or soju?” Baekhyun asks the few of his friends that are still sober enough to have more drinks. The others look up and each slur out their requested beverage at Baekhyun as he nods at the responses.

 

Chanyeol scoots closer to the edge of the sofa to reach Baekhyun just before he walks away. He slips his hands beneath Baekhyun’s shirt then mumbles, “beer for me,” against Baekhyun’s lower back, making the latter shiver and release a yelp at the man’s cold fingers. 

 

“Cold, don’t do that.” Baekhyun slaps his hands away and whines in protest.

 

The taller chuckles and releases his hold on his best friend, allowing him to go and get the drinks their friends asked for.

 

After setting down the bottles of beer and soju on the living room table—except for the beer that Chanyeol asked for, which Baekhyun hands over himself instead of just setting on the table—Baekhyun slumps back onto his seat next to the giant, squeezing himself into Chanyeol’s side. 

 

With a cold beer in one hand, Chanyeol rests his other hand on top of Baekhyun’s thigh, slowly rubbing circles mindlessly. Baekhyun leans into the touch and rests his head on the taller’s shoulder. He then leaves a chaste kiss on Chanyeol’s arm, making the man turn to his direction with a pout to ask for a kiss on the lips, which Baekhyun quickly gives with a quiet giggle.

 

At that moment,  Junmyeon catches the act and turns his attention at them, an eyebrow cocked questioningly. “What’s the deal with you two?” 

 

Baekhyun whips his head at Junmyeon’s direction and detangles himself from Chanyeol. “Huh? What? Nothing, what are you talking about?”

 

Junmyeon shrugs and takes a  swig of his beer, but not without giving them a doubtful look.

 

“We’re just friends, that’s all.” Baekhyun explains. Chanyeol feels like his heart is being squeezed in pain even as he answers, “yep,” with a smile and ignoring the sting of Baekhyun’s words. He stands to snatch the shot of soju from Sehun’s hands and downs it in one go. 

 

This time sitting on the floor with Yixing and Sehun, Chanyeol looks at Junmyeon’s muddled expression.

 

“I don’t know, I just—friends don’t kiss like that, y’know.” 

 

Silence filled the room after hearing what Junmyeon said. Jongdae claps to get rid of the awkwardness in the air and pours another round of soju to get some conversation going and ease up the tension.

 

The following weeks that come become awkward as hell for the pair. Chanyeol tried to go back to their usual routine. He tried reaching out to Baekhyun, but the smaller always pushed him away; flinching at and dodging every little touch Chanyeol would give him. 

 

He didn’t want to admit it, but it hurt Chanyeol every time Baekhyun would distance himself from him. So when the avoidance reached the third day, Chanyeol decided to just give up and stay in his own space. 

 

They were living in the same house and sharing the same space so it was a little difficult to move around and, well,  _ avoid _ each other. Even Jongdae could feel the tension and has had enough of it, so one night he announces that he’s staying over at Minseok’s until the two friends sort out whatever they have going on between them.

 

…

 

Countless days of studying and rehearsing had passed that avoiding each other barely served as an obstacle to them as they had different schedules for classes and practice they hardly even saw each other anymore.

 

That is, until the university’s annual festival week started to approach. To welcome the incoming festival, the group of friends decided that it would be a good idea to grab a bite at their favorite local restaurant that served the best samgyupsal around their university.

 

Jongdae and Minseok, being the ones who wanted to grab a private room for their group, came earlier than everybody else to sweet talk the owner into giving them their usual spot for occasions like this.

 

With Jongdae’s whines and Minseok’s soft pleas, the couple was able to score their usual table at the restaurant, even getting affectionate pats on their cheeks from the owner. While getting comfortable in their seats, the door to the restaurant chimes as Chanyeol walks in with his fringe flat against his forehead. He still wore their school’s hoodie, which only meant he came straight to the restaurant after his last class. 

 

Jongdae hollers at Chanyeol from across the room and greets him enthusiastically.

 

The giant acknowledges his loud friend with a nod and pats Minseok’s shoulder as a form of a greeting. “Hey, guys. I see you’ve succeeded in getting our spot.” Chanyeol’s smile is a bit timid, but Jongdae either doesn’t notice or comment on it as he nods and gleefully answers, “yes, we did!” 

 

Taking a seat, Chanyeol starts to play with the tissue holder, not knowing what to talk about just yet after being drained from his Economics class. 

 

“So, where’s Baekhyun?” Minseok asks the taller, only to receive a kick on the shin from Jongdae as soon as he finishes the question. 

 

Chanyeol looks up from the wooden tissue holder, seemingly not noticing the couple's exchange and shrugs at Minseok’s question. “I don’t know really, I came here straight from class.” 

 

In time with his answer, Baekhyun bursts through the door, looking bright and lovely as ever wearing a plain black shirt tucked into his blue jeans, alongside Kyungsoo and Yixing who had matching department shirts on. Making their way to Room No. 9, Kyungsoo drags Yixing towards Minseok's side and sits at the farther end while Baekhyun—to everyone's surprise—drags the chair right next to Chanyeol and plops down onto it.

 

Placing his hand on Chanyeol's thigh, Baekhyun smiles at his friends. "This week's going to be wild, I can feel it." He starts. Conversations start to easily flow after that.

 

While waiting for the others to arrive, they talk about all the events that the school would be holding for the students for the entire week; like Mamamoo being invited to perform along with SM's newly debuted boy group they couldn’t quite remember the name of. 

 

As the talk continues, Baekhyun's hand never leaves the giant's thigh, making Chanyeol feel like his skin is burning under Baekhyun's touch. 

 

It's like Saturday night never even happened. It's as if they weren't just flat out avoiding each other for a week now with Baekhyun suddenly being so touchy around him again. Chanyeol wanted to get up and leave but he was frozen in place with his thoughts piling over each other in a dizzying frenzy that he almost couldn't breathe. Almost.

 

A solid minute passed until he was snapped out of his thoughts with Baekhyun now drumming his fingers on his knee.

 

"Where the hell are the cousins? What's taking them so long?" J ongdae asks impatiently, craning his neck to look over at the door

 

Kyungsoo chokes on his water after hearing Jongdae's question. " _ Cousins _ ?" He asks in disbelief after coughing up the water that slipped through the wrong pipe.

 

With his eyes wider than ever, Kyungsoo finds himself slipping into internal turmoil.  _ What the hell, Kyungsoo? I can't believe you were jealous over a  _ cousin _. Oh my god you are a  _ disgrace _.  _

 

While the rest of the group were throwing a fit at witnessing Kyungsoo's very, very,  _ very _ late realization, the cousins arrive to the scene of the whole table laughing and slapping at whatever was closest to them—in this case, the table or the person next to them—hysterically.

 

"What's going on?" Jongin asks as he enters the private room's opened door.

 

"NOTHING." Kyungsoo looks up with a raging blush on his cheeks, eyes wide in panic as he quickly downs a shot of soju they ordered while waiting for the other three to arrive.

 

Seeing this, Jongin frowns. “We haven’t even started eating yet and you’re already drinking.” He says, voice tinged with concern, as he moves the bottle away from a flustered Kyungsoo and sits down next to him. 

 

Kyungsoo ignores Jongin and drinks another shot of soju after realizing he’s been a dumb bitch all along.

 

“Junmyeon-hyung texted me that he’ll be a little late. He says we can order without him.” Sehun announces to the group as he takes a seat next to Baekhyun 

 

Minseok nods at the information and presses the call button to start ordering. Halfway into their meal, Junmyeon finally arrives looking artfully disheveled by the wind while the group listens intently and guffawing at something Jongdae was reenacting. 

 

Their heads turn at the new comer and tells him to take a seat, Sehun immediately wraps his arm around Junmyeon’s shoulder and offers him food cooking from the grill.

  
As the night deepened, the group of friends continued to eat, drink, and laugh boisterously with each other in between slurred stories. Plus, Chanyeol couldn't help but notice (through his drunken stupor) that the drunker they got, the more Baekhyun got touchy with him. 

 

Having missed the smaller’s touches from the week they were practically avoiding each other, Chanyeol leans in with every brush of the hand Baekhyun gives him and every peck and tug at his shirt, up until Baekhyun had his legs resting over the giant’s thigh, whispering something he couldn’t quite comprehend from the blazing heat his body was feeling and the way he could practically hear his hammering heart beat through his ears.

 

...

 

Chanyeol opens the door to their apartment with Baekhyun all over him. They were giggling and feeling hot from all the alcohol they consumed, stumbling their way into Chanyeol’s bedroom while Baekhyun left wet kisses down his neck. 

 

“I want you.” Baekhyun whispers in his ear, each word punctuated with a finger to Chanyeol's chest.

 

Chanyeol can only groan in response and pull Baekhyun closer, roughly kissing the smaller man. “ _ Fuck _ , Baek.” 

 

Feeling Chanyeol’s hands under his shirt, Baekhyun detaches himself from Chanyeol’s tight hold to start taking off his clothes.

 

As Baekhyun kicks his jeans off and tosses his shirt to the side, baring his body to the cool air and shivering slightly, the moonlight hits the side of his face in such a way that left Chanyeol breathless. He could feel his heart squeeze inside his chest and feel himself freeze in place as he looks at the beauty that is Byun Baekhyun. Even under the influence of alcohol, Baekhyun never ceased to look so amazing, with his flushed cheeks and disheveled hair and his adorable pout as he struggles to kick off his boxers around his ankle. Chanyeol was madly in love. 

 

“ _ Fuck _ .” Chanyeol can only whisper incredulously after realizing what he had thought.

 

Baekhyun, who successfully managed to kick off his boxers, tilts his head to the side upon hearing Chanyeol curse and stares at him with brows furrowed in confusion. 

 

“I have to tell you something.” Chanyeol says as he clears his throat, but Baekhyun doesn't show any sign of hearing him as he walks closer to the bed and props his legs on either side of Chanyeol’s thighs, wrapping his arms around the taller's neck and pulling him closer to his face.

 

“No, shh, tell me later. I don’t want you to suddenly go soft on me before we even get to fuck.” Baekhyun says with a quiet giggle, biting his lower lip and smiling seductively before he finally closes the distance to engage Chanyeol in a deep and heated kiss.

 

Baekhyun pushes Chanyeol down on his bed and starts undressing the man himself—seeing as Chanyeol hadn't even bothered to remove his own clothes while Baekhyun did—grinding his crotch against the taller’s and making Chanyeol groan in frustration.

 

With Chanyeol also out of his clothing, Chanyeol flips Baekhyun around so that he can hover over him. Finally with him on top, Chanyeol starts to deliberately tease Baekhyun; kissing him from his collarbones down to his inner thighs and making Baekhyun moan in pleasure.

 

“Chanyeol, please.” Baekhyun moans as Chanyeol sucks a hickey just below his hip bone.

 

Chanyeol shushes the writhing mess underneath him with a chaste kiss and chuckles, “we’ll get there.” He leaves another kiss on the now red mark and moves on to teasing his entrance open. 

 

He grabs a condom and a bottle of lube from his bedside table and places them nearby before proceeding to squeeze lube onto his fingers to prep Baekhyun. 

 

Baekhyun flinches at the cold feeling of the lube but slowly gets used to it, even hums at the feel of Chanyeol circling his entrance before a finger slowly pushes in, making him arch his back. 

 

“Mhm, Chanyeol…” He sighs deeply as soon as Chanyeol starts to move his finger inside him.

 

“What do you want, baby?” Chanyeol says, voice rough with arousal.

 

“I want you. Please.” Baekhyun pants, almost begging, but Chanyeol shakes his head and instead slowly introduces another finger alongside the first one. The action takes Baekhyun by surprise and he lets out a loud gasp before his body slowly sinks back against the mattress. He writhes some more before one of his hands places itself on Chanyeol’s head, pulling on his hair. “Yeol, please, just… Want you so much.”

 

Chanyeol hums and shakes his head, pushing his fingers up to his knuckles before he curls them into a come hither motion that makes Baekhyun jerk and curse out loud. “I’ve barely even prepped you.”

 

“Oh, please, it’s not like your dick’s  _ that  _ big,” Baekhyun hisses through clenched teeth, trying to move his hips to make Chanyeol’s fingers move more quickly.

 

Except, the fingers get removed and he’s left clenching around nothing. Baekhyun doesn’t even bother trying to stop the whine that comes out of him and instead sits up to glare at Chanyeol. He’s surprised to find the man actually look  _ offended _ .

 

“My dick isn’t small,” Chanyeol pouts, now the one glaring at Baekhyun. “I’m two inches above average.”

 

Baekhyun can only look at Chanyeol in disbelief before he’s shaking his head and chuckling. He falls back onto the bed and his chuckling turns to full on laughter. When his laughing subsides, he tries to reach for Chanyeol with his legs, pulling the man over him when he manages to wrap his legs around Chanyeol’s waist.

 

“Stop pouting, you look ridiculous,” Baekhyun giggles some more before leaning up to coax Chanyeol into a languid kiss that the giant easily melts into.

 

It doesn’t take long for them to fall back into the mood. Chanyeol’s fingers slip back inside Baekhyun and Baekhyun’s hand slips in between their bodies to take hold of Chanyeol’s length, running a finger over his slit and smiling into their kiss when the taller of the two shivers. Chanyeol retaliates by curling his fingers and rubbing over Baekhyun’s prostate, making the smaller mewl into his mouth.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun pulls away from their kiss and tries to pull Chanyeol’s fingers out of him. “I’m okay, I’m ready, please. Please, I need you inside me.”

 

The taller pulls out and sits up, ignoring Baekhyun’s whimpers so he can reach for the condom. Baekhyun sits up to watch him put it on and spread lube over himself. He lets himself get pushed back down to his back by Chanyeol, throwing his arms around the man’s neck and his legs around Chanyeol’s waist.

 

“God, you take so long, I’m surprised I haven’t gone soft.”

 

Chanyeol squints at him but otherwise doesn’t reply. Instead, he takes hold of his length and lines himself up to Baekhyun’s hole. He keeps his eyes on the man underneath him when he slowly pushes in, taking delight in the way Baekhyun takes a sharp inhale and desperately clutches onto him. He slips another inch in before stopping and teasing the male, “not too big, huh?”

 

“Shut up— _ ah _ !” Baekhyun bites on his bottom lip and wiggles his hips before relaxing. “I just haven’t done this in a long time.”

 

Chanyeol doesn’t believe him but he nods along anyway before continuing to slip inside, much more easily now that Baekhyun had relaxed. Once he bottoms out, he rests half of his weight on the male beneath him, breathing heavily through his mouth and inhaling Baekhyun’s scent whenever he breathes in. The man smells of strawberries and slight sweat, but Chanyeol can’t get enough of it.

 

“Go on,” Baekhyun says after a while. “You can move.”

 

It takes Chanyeol a few more seconds to follow through. He goes by a slow pace at first, but when Baekhyun’s little whines turn louder, he speeds up until the room is filled with the sounds of Baekhyun’s moaning, Chanyeol’s heavy grunts, and their skin colliding with every sharp thrust of Chanyeol’s hips.

 

Chanyeol makes sure to keep his eyes locked on Baekhyun’s face as he fucks into the smaller male. He takes in the sight of Baekhyun’s lips, wide open to let out moans that only serve to spur Chanyeol into quickening his pace. Of the way Baekhyun’s eyes close whenever Chanyeol hits his sweet spot. Of how he wishes he could see this view for the rest of his life.

 

Wanting to hear more of Baekhyun’s cries of his name, Chanyeol’s thrusts turn rougher. Even so, Baekhyun still urges him to go  _ harder, faster, god, Chanyeol, is this the best you can do?! _

 

Chanyeol follows Baekhyun’s wishes, but even then the smaller male continues to complain, scratching Chanyeol’s back to the point that he starts to curse and flinch away. When he gets tired of Baekhyun’s taunts though, Chanyeol practically growls and slaps Baekhyun’s bottom, the sound resonating through the room.

 

Baekhyun freezes and lets out another loud moan. Then, Chanyeol feels him squeezing his length, making Chanyeol curse and grind his hips against Baekhyun’s ass to chase his own pleasure. It’s not until he feels something wet against his stomach does he halt his actions and look down in between them, squinting through the darkness.

 

“Wait a minute… Did you…”

 

“Shut up, Chanyeol.”

 

“Oh my god, did you—”

 

“I fucking  _ swear _ —”

 

“Did you  _ come _ just from me spanking you?!”

 

Chanyeol should’ve expected the slap on the chest that Baekhyun gives him, except he didn’t, so he gets hit and he tries to move away from another one, which Baekhyun uses as the perfect time to try and wriggle away from Chanyeol.

 

“No, Baek, baby,” Chanyeol quickly covers Baekhyun’s body with his, hugging him tight and pressing kisses to his neck, nipping lightly whenever the smaller tries to pull away. It takes a few more sweet talking and soft kisses before Baekhyun lets Chanyeol have his way with him again, slipping back inside the smaller with a deep, happy sigh.

 

Baekhyun, though still sensitive from his earlier orgasm, merely grunts and distracts himself by sucking hickies onto Chanyeol’s neck. Chanyeol lets him get used to his slow thrusts first before he gradually picks up the pace.

 

“You didn’t tell me you had a little spanking kink, Baek.” Chanyeol teases.

 

The smaller replies by biting onto Chanyeol’s shoulder. Hard. It makes Chanyeol yelp and thrust a little too deeply, making Baekhyun let out a loud moan. “ _ Fuck _ —shut up. Will you just come already?”

 

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” Chanyeol groans through gritted teeth, grinding his hips against Baekhyun’s for a moment before he turns their position around so that Baekhyun is straddling him, his own hands anchored on the other’s waist. Baekhyun looks far too confused at their change of position, so Chanyeol explains to him, “want you to go by your own pace.”

 

Baekhyun lets out a breathy little “ _ oh _ ,” but then starts to move—slowly at first, even stopping at times and just squeezing around Chanyeol’s length. But after a short while, he starts to get into a rhythm, hands flat on top of Chanyeol’s chest so he can properly ride the man.

 

Chanyeol watches Baekhyun’s cock harden up again. Once he’s fully erect, he reaches out to take hold and gives a smooth pump, the action forcing a whimper from the male on top of him. Chanyeol then matches the pace that Baekhyun is riding him with. It doesn’t take long for the both of them to reach climax.

 

It’s Baekhyun that comes first. The smaller had tried to bat Chanyeol’s hand away from his own dick, but Chanyeol held onto his wrists with his other free hand and jerked Baekhyun off to completion. Chanyeol came not long after—shuddering as Baekhyun’s walls squeezed him. They’re left panting long after they both come. Baekhyun is either too sleepy or lazy to move, so Chanyeol takes it upon himself to remove the smaller from on top of him—both of them wincing from oversensitivity when they detach from one another—and places the man beside him. Chanyeol sits up and Baekhyun whines.

 

“Chanyeollie,” he says sluggishly. “Come back here, it’s too cold.”

 

The taller of the two pats the hand reached out to him before he removes the condom and ties the end, standing up to throw it in the trash. He stumbles his way towards his desk to look for some tissues and brings the whole box over with him to the bed. When he climbs back up, Baekhyun is quick to pull him beside him.

 

“I still have to clean you up,” Chanyeol tells him, trying to pull away from the tight hold on him.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t listen though, only pulls the blankets over them and practically drapes himself over Chanyeol, his head comfortably nestled on the giant’s chest. It’s warm and cozy, and he definitely doesn’t want to risk angering the little ball of fluff on top of him, so Chanyeol decides to just clean Baekhyun up tomorrow, if he’s the first to wake up.

 

Everything else is quiet. Baekhyun’s quiet breathing should be enough to lull Chanyeol to sleep, except he’s still buzzing with adrenaline over realizing his true feelings for his best friend. Still, he forces himself to close his eyes and try to sleep, but when that doesn’t help, he just ends up sighing and staring at the ceiling. 

 

“Hey, Baek?" Chanyeol speaks up after a few beats of silence.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t reply at first, but after a gentle nudge on his shoulder, he lets out a quiet hum.

 

“I love you.”

 

“What?” The smaller looks up at Chanyeol, eyes squinted to properly look at Chanyeol and face cutely scrunched in confusion. “I didn’t catch that.”

 

“Ah, nothing. I meant sweet dreams.” Chanyeol forces himself to smile, even though he’s pretty sure Baekhyun couldn’t see him.

 

Nevertheless, Baekhyun smiles back at him. “Mhm. Sweet dreams, Chanyeollie.”

 

With a deep sigh, Baekhyun rests his head back on Chanyeol’s chest and allows the darkness to take over him, finally falling asleep. Meanwhile, Chanyeol looks out the window with the moonlight slightly creeping itself between the spaces of the blinds, shining over Baekhyun's shoulders down to his bare legs, withdrawn from the duvet he and Chanyeol were under in the short bliss of drunken sex. 

 

_ I fucking hate this. Why do feelings have to be so complicated?  _ Chanyeol thinks to himself.

 

He didn't like what he got himself into.He hated the fact that his supposed best friend loves to play with his feelings on and off stage. He hates that he knows that everything they’re doing is wrong, hates that he knows but can’t help it; can’t help but fall for the small but bright person that Baekhyun is. He's been pushing away these feelings since the day he felt his heart go haywire from Baekhyun’s touches, from the way Baekhyun spoke to him and the way he teases him. He can’t help but feel so weak for Baekhyun and think it’s so unfair sometimes that Baekhyun has that kind of control over him, but he can’t say the same for himself.

 

…

The next morning, Chanyeol wakes up and automatically reaches for Baekhyun but is confused to feel nothing but the cold sheets, which only meant that Baekhyun must’ve left for a while now. He sits up in a panic and practically rolls off of the bed.  _ Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit _ . Baekhyun must have run off somewhere. After realizing this, he covers himself back up with the duvet and lies back down.

 

He lies on his bed with a heavy heart, knowing everything’s fucked now.

 

Despite internally stressing out, he hears the sound of the shower turn on from his en suite bathroom and releases a breath of surprise, momentarily settling his worries. 

 

When Baekhyun comes out from the bathroom, he has Chanyeol’s Iron Man bath towel covering his bottom half and his blonde hair still dripping wet, smelling like his own shampoo. “Hey,” Baekhyun greets brightly. Too brightly, Chanyeol thinks.

 

“Hey.” Chanyeol greets back, his voice slightly wavering from nervousness.

 

“Look—”

 

“I—”

 

They speak at the same time. Baekhyun’s laugh sounds forced and Chanyeol just awkwardly scratches at his nape.

 

“You go first,” Chanyeol nods and nervously picks at his nails. 

 

Baekhyun takes a deep  breath before looking down at his feet. “I just wanted to say… I’m sorry. I—we shouldn’t have… done what we did last night.” He keeps quiet for a sec to see if Chanyeol would speak up, but when the giant stays quiet, he continues, “this was a big mistake… I  just don’t want this to ruin our friendship.” After another deep breath, he then looks up to Chanyeol, looking for a reaction.

 

Chanyeol felt as if an arrow was shot through his heart and he couldn’t breathe. He should’ve known this would happen.  _ Stupid, stupid Chanyeol.  _

 

The taller of the two quickly blinked his eyes, trying his best to will his tears away while looking at anywhere but Baekhyun’s direction. He distracts himself by getting out of the bed and picking up his clothes from last night. “Yeah, of course.” He laughs, pulling his sheets closer to his body. “We don’t want something as casual as  _ sex  _ ruin our friendship.” 

 

As he puts on his boxers, he tries to give Baekhyun a bright smile, to try and play off how hurt he was, and it seems like Baekhyun believed him with the most relieved and bright looking smile that he gave him. Normally, it would make Chanyeol’s heart race, but now, it just broke him.

 

He wanted to cry and just lock himself in his room for days, weeks, months, years, but he couldn’t do that to Baekhyun—the man didn’t even know he was in love with him. 

 

So with a tight smile on his face, he moves past him to head for the shower. 

 

“Oh wait, weren’t you supposed to tell me something last night?” Baekhyun holds onto Chanyeol’s wrist before he could even escape to the bathroom. 

 

When Chanyeol looks back at Baekhyun this time around, he can’t even be bothered to hide the dejection in his face. He shakes his head. “It wasn’t important, don’t worry about it.” He twists his wrist to break free from Baekhyun’s grip, moving quickly so Baekhyun wouldn’t have to see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, dragging his heavy heart along with him.

 

…

 

Frankly, it hasn’t been a good week for Chanyeol. He could barely sleep, his heart was broken, and he had to deal with a Baekhyun that clearly looked fine with everything that was happening. 

 

As much as Chanyeol tries his best to act as normal as possible, things get increasingly awkward for the two with Chanyeol impulsively avoiding Baekhyun’s little touches and turning away from kisses. Their hugs get a little less warmer and the cuddles a little more detached. 

 

_ And _ as much as Baekhyun hated to admit it, things have changed. Chanyeol had become distant and everytime he would try to even approach the guy, he would just awkwardly withdraw from him and it was getting on his nerves.

 

They were walking home after class when Baekhyun decides to just reach for Chanyeol’s hand, casually slipping his fingers between the giant’s—it was normal for both of them, they’ve held hands plenty of times while they walked home. Except, Chanyeol avoids his hand and Baekhyun can do nothing but grumble and pull his own hand back from the rejected attempt. “What the hell is going on with you, Park Chanyeol?” 

 

Chanyeol whips his head at the sound of Baekhyun actually using his full name—something he never really did unless he was truly pissed off—and furrows his eyebrows at the smaller. “What are you talking about? I’m not even doing anything.”

 

Baekhyun stomps his foot and walks ahead of Chanyeol, crossing his arms over his chest and then glaring at him. “Well for starters, you never let me get close to you anymore. Is that what you call ‘ _ not doing anything _ ’?” He complains, mocking Chanyeol by dramatically lowering his voice.

 

And maybe it’s because Chanyeol’s just so tired from every shitty thing that happened to him the past few days, but hearing Baekhyun mock his voice sets him off. “Then what do you want me to do, Baekhyun? Huh? Want me to always hold your hand? Be at your every beck and call? Can’t a guy just want to be alone for a bit, huh?” He laughs, but it’s obvious that it’s forced and tired. “What else do you want from me?” 

 

Baekhyun couldn’t speak—he wasn’t expecting Chanyeol to answer him like that. He feels a lump form in his throat and when he blinks, his eyes start to water. “I—I just want to know what’s going on, alright? Why are you suddenly being so distant?”

 

When he turns around to face Chanyeol, more tears line his eyes and his lips are pressed firmly together, hands clenched into fists that he pushes against his sides. “W-What did I do wrong?” Baekhyun breaks down into a sob, angrily wiping away at his tears.

 

Chanyeol felt so weak. Oh so fucking weak. The love of his life was crying right in front of him, begging for answers he didn’t have the guts to tell him. He opens his mouth to speak, but defeated by his consciousness, he closes them back up and can only look on helplessly at a crying Baekhyun. 

 

“Tell me, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun demands, more tears falling from his eyes which he hurriedly wipes away. 

 

“I—I can’t. You said you didn’t want to ruin our friendship. Well, this is me trying not to ruin it.” It’s a shitty excuse, but it’s the only one Chanyeol could think of at the moment, feeling very vexed at the situation at hand.

 

Baekhyun looks up at him with his cheeks flushed from his harsh rubbing and lower lip quivering. “How is this not  _ ruining  _ it? Chanyeol, this is the complete opposite, you’re not… you’re not like  _ yourself _ anymore.” 

 

“Y-You wouldn’t understand," Chanyeol stutters, trying to avert his attention from Baekhyun.

 

"Then make me!" Baekhyun yells with so much frustration that tears start to fall from Chanyeol's eyes as well. 

 

"I—Baekhyun." Chanyeol pauses to take a deep breath then steps towards his crying  _ best friend _ . “Please don’t cry.” The taller whispers, gently wiping away the tears still falling from Baekhyun’s eyes.

 

“What is it, Chanyeol? Tell me. Make me understand.” Baekhyun cries through hiccups. 

 

“I’m—I—I think I’m in love with you.” Chanyeol nervously stutters.

 

Baekhyun finds himself stunned at the bare confession Chanyeol had just given him, his eyes are wide open, still glistening although the tears have stopped falling. 

 

“Wha… What? N-No, you’re not in love with me.” Baekhyun steps away from Chanyeol, somewhat appalled but disbelief obvious in his expression.

 

Chanyeol’s heart clenches at Baekhyun’s negative response but still manages to release a weak chuckle of defeat. “Knew you’d say something like that. This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you anything.” 

 

“I—I’m sorry.” Baekhyun stutters, tears starting up again as he manages to whisper another “I’m sorry,” before he turns to run as fast as he can, leaving an even more broken Chanyeol in the alley, his emotions now in a jumble and running amok, picking up the pieces of his shattered heart from the pavement. 

 

...

 

Baekhyun had decided to stay over at Sehun and Jongin’s one night, taking one of the cousins' bed for himself, because after some time of going home to an empty apartment, Baekhyun had started to become lonely every since Chanyeol had left to sleep over at Minseok’s for the time being. 

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun weren’t on speaking terms, which wasn't really surprising after Baekhyun had left Chanyeol in the alley right after he confessed his feelings to him. Baekhyun didn’t know how to face his best friend _. _ He missed him  _ so much _ , but fear outweighed his longing for the man as he wouldn’t know what to do if they so much as cross paths at university. 

 

It pained Baekhyun to think that he had hurt his best friend out of his selfishness. Now their friendship is ruined and he felt lost and empty and just— _ sad. _

 

So when Sehun entered his bedroom and sees a pouting Baekhyun, he immediately decides it’s time for an intervention. 

 

“I know you have your face in a perpetual pout, but at this point you’re just gonna start forming wrinkles on your face at how sad you look.” Sehun starts as he plops down next to Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun’s sure that it was Sehun’s attempt at trying to make him feel a bit better, but it only makes the smaller frown even more as he refutes, “shut up, it’s not like you look any better.”

 

Sehun merely laughs at Baekhyun’s (adorable) glare and pats his knee in form of comfort. “You miss him, don’t you?”

 

Baekhyun whines and covers his face with his hands. “Stop.”

 

“Y’know, you should at least try to talk to him. I hear he hasn’t been doing too well.”

 

Even if Sehun hadn’t told him that, Baekhyun would’ve already known. Despite trying his best to not cross paths with Chanyeol at uni, he can’t help but sneak peeks of the taller whenever he can; may it be in class or the cafeteria or when they part ways at the main gate. He knows that Chanyeol had a pretty hard time sleeping, he always had dark circles, but it seems that it had only worsened over the few days that they’ve been apart. He hasn’t really gotten a good look at Chanyeol up close, but it seemed that he was looking rather gaunt too.

 

Hearing from Minseok about what Chanyeol was doing though—sleeping for only twenty minutes at most and leaving for classes without eating anything—had only served to further intensify the guilt and sadness that Baekhyun was feeling. He didn’t understand how Chanyeol could just… forget to take care of himself just because of being rejected like that. But then again, it wasn’t like Baekhyun knew what it was like to be rejected by someone (and by someone he’s supposed to  _ love _ too), so he supposes he couldn’t really say anything.

 

Nevertheless, just thinking about it made Baekhyun regretful and miserable. And scream his frustrations into his hands.

 

Sehun just sighs at his stubborn friend and tries to remove Baekhyun’s hands from his face.

 

“C’mon, hyung, we don’t have much time ‘til the competition. How the hell are we supposed to perform as a group if you’re not talking to each other?” 

 

Baekhyun’s face scrunches up as he desperately tries to keep his tears at bay. Unable to give Sehun an answer, he resorts to lightly kicking at the younger’s thigh. “I hate you.” He looks up at the ceiling to avoid Sehun’s judging stare.

 

“I… I don’t know what to do, Sehun.” He cries now, sitting up properly to once again bury his face against his palms. 

 

“Just tell him how you feel for starters. Do  _ you  _ know how you feel?” Sehun asks softly, a hand placed over Baekhyun’s shoulder as comfort.

 

Baekhyun’s breath hitches at the question and he looks up at the male with his wide eyes. “Oh no, Sehun. I fucked up.” 

 

“You only realizing that now?” Sehun jokes as he raises an eyebrow at him questioningly.

 

“No, no,  _ no _ ! Fucking hell.” Baekhyun scrambles to get up from the bed and look for his phone.

 

“Hyung, hey, calm down. What the hell is going on with you?” Sehun says, a bit worried at Baekhyun’s sudden mood change as he watches the smaller frantically move about.

 

“I—Sehun, I need to talk to him.” Baekhyun looks at the younger with wide, panicked eyes.

 

“Alright, well, just calm down for a sec. Breathe.” Sehun grabs hold of Baekhyun’s shoulders, rooting him to the ground and taking deep even breaths, urging Baekhyun to follow him.

 

As soon as Baekhyun calms down, he speaks once again. “I  _ really  _ need to go talk to him now.” 

 

“Okay, hyung, go ahead.” Sehun has an inkling of an idea of what Baekhyun was worrying about, so he only gives Baekhyun a supportive nod and smile before letting go of his shoulders. Baekhyun is quick to run to the door. 

 

“I’ll be back! Well, at least it depends on what happens.” Baekhyun hurriedly says as he puts on his shoes to leave. “Thank you Sehunnie, I owe you one!” 

 

Baekhyun smiles and blows a kiss for the younger before he goes out and slams the door behind him. Finally having some purpose in his steps, he races to the bus station.

 

When Baekhyun arrives at Minseok’s doorstep, he was a nervous wreck; his heart was in his throat, he felt like throwing up, his hands were sweaty, and the only thing that he could hear was the sound of his heavy breathing in the empty corridor of the building. He suddenly wanted to back out, wanted to go back to the cousins’ apartment. His mind was going haywire at the thought of speaking to Chanyeol after ignoring each other for so long, that it didn’t even occur to him that his hand was already starting to reach for the doorbell. 

 

Baekhyun is snapped out of his thoughts once he hears the doorbell actually ring and panics.  _ Holy shit shit shit. _

 

Minseok peeks from the small opening he’s made, then fully opens the door when he sees that it’s only Baekhyun. He’s clearly surprised when he says in lieu of greeting, “oh, Baekhyun what brings you here?”

 

The blond laughs nervously. “Haha, I just—I was wondering if Chanyeol is around? I need to talk to him.” 

 

“Uh, wait, let me…” Minseok closes the door a bit and looks at Chanyeol. 

 

“Hey Chanyeol, Baek’s here.” Minseok quietly informs. 

 

Looking up from his laptop, Chanyeol’s ears perk up at the mention of the other’s name. “What does he want.” Chanyeol deadpans, hoping that he looks uninterested despite his heart racing wildly. 

 

“He says he wants to talk,” Minseok tells him with a tiny hopeful smile.

 

“Well, I don't want to talk to him." Chanyeol answers. He dismisses the conversation with a huff before he continues to type on his laptop.

 

"Chan—" Minseok is cut off when Chanyeol slams his laptop close.

 

"No, tell him to go. I—I'm not ready." Chanyeol says as he stands up from his seat, avoiding Minseok's disappointed look. The truth is, he really wanted to see Baekhyun—he hadn’t seen him in days. Chanyeol misses him more than words could say, but he wasn’t ready for any sort of confrontation just yet. He hasn’t glued his heart back together, he couldn’t. Not after what happened.

 

After Minseok sees that Chanyeol has gone to hide in the guest room, he sighs in defeat and opens the door again, facing a hopeful and very nervous looking Baekhyun. “Hi, um, sorry Baek. He says he doesn’t want to talk.” Minseok can only smile apologetically. The smile on Baekhyun's face falters until he's left frowning in disappointment.

 

“Oh. Um, alright. I’ll just—okay.” Baekhyun nods to show Minseok that it’s okay, and tries to smile as well even though it looked a bit forced. He leaves before Minseok could even say anything, fists clenched so tight that his nails dug into his palms. He repeatedly tells himself that  _ he’s okay, he’s fine, and he’s not going to cry _ , and yet his eyes start to water and a tear falls with every step he took. “Shit, Baekhyun, stop crying.” He scolds himself as he aggressively rubs at his eyes, wiping away the tears that managed to escape. 

 

...

 

University Week was drawing near, which meant the competition was too, which meant their group had plenty of back-to-back practices—even if Chanyeol and Baekhyun refused, usually resulting in awkward or tension-filled rehearsals whenever all of them gathered together. Each member made sure to practice, may it be as a group of four, or pair, or alone. Every member pressured themselves into making sure they had the whole choreography down, or else they’d be screwed once they were onstage (if they aren’t already). 

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun—but mostly Chanyeol—took time to avoiding each other from ever crossing paths. Which is why the only time they had the chance to see each other face to face was the day of the competition.

 

Baekhyun had missed the taller; he missed his hugs, his annoyingly cute laugh, his big ears, eyes, and just about everything. He missed his best friend. So when they finally meet again that Friday afternoon, Baekhyun could do nothing but stare at him. Baekhyun would have stared all day if he could, but staring wasn’t going to do anything to help with their problem. He needed to talk to Chanyeol and let him know. 

 

Just seconds away from performing, Baekhyun musters up the courage to talk to Chanyeol and approaches the taller with determination in each step. “I need to talk to you, after the performance.” Baekhyun says, a finger pressed to Chanyeol’s chest. It’s the first interaction they’ve had in weeks. Then, in a much softer voice, he adds, “please don’t stand me up.”

 

Chanyeol, naturally, is startled by Baekhyun’s sudden demand but before he could even answer or talk back, the petite man had already walked away from him to get into position, just in time for their group to be called on stage. Chanyeol was intrigued and confused, but he had to push thoughts of Baekhyun and their little talk later out of the way so he can focus on his responsibility at hand—to dance his heart out.

  
  
  


Every single member of Six Dimension had huge, giddy smiles on their faces as soon as they returned backstage, adrenaline rushing after having the weight of the competition off their shoulders.

 

“I’m so glad that’s over,  _ wow _ .” Minseok announces to the group and they all nod in agreement. 

 

While the others were all congratulating each other on a good job, Baekhyun tugs at the back of Chanyeol's shirt, looking nervous and unsure. "Let’s go somewhere private."

 

Pulling Chanyeol away from their group of friends, Baekhyun finds a quieter spot for them to both talk on a bench near some trees.

 

"Hi." Baekhyun starts as they settle on the wooden bench.

 

"Hey." Chanyeol answers, still confused as to why Baekhyun wanted to talk to him.

 

"It's been a while, huh?" Baekhyun’s smile is overly fake and bitter, but he still looks at Chanyeol who looks back at him, the other’s expression closed off.

 

The giant, unsure of whether or not he should answer Baekhyun’s rhetorical question, merely nods. A few silent moments pass before Baekhyun speaks again. "I missed you." He says, with utmost sincerity in his voice that it startles Chanyeol, making him turn his head towards the smaller male.

 

_ I missed you too. So much.  _ Chanyeol wants to say, but he’s still hurting, and so he ends up furrowing his eyebrows in suspicion. "What do you want, Baekhyun? What is this  _ talk _ for?" He didn't intend it to sound as harsh, but he couldn’t really take it back even if he wanted to. Baekhyun is taken aback by it, his feeling his chest tighten and unshed tears blur his vision.

 

Letting out a shaky breath, Baekhyun decides to look Chanyeol directly in the eyes to get his point—and emotions—across. "First of all, I just… I want to say I'm sorry Chanyeol. I—I shouldn't have left you in that alley that afternoon. Th-That was selfish of me." 

 

"I’m… I just didn't know what to do. I know you’re probably still mad at me, but believe me when I say I'm sorry. And I know I don’t deserve it, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." He holds his breath to wait for an answer, but when Chanyeol doesn’t speak after a while, his unshed tears start to fall. Still, he continues.

 

"It was incredibly unfair of me to want so much from you when I was giving so little back, and I’m sorry for that. I should've considered what you were feeling with all the things I did with you. I thought it was all okay as long as I kept  _ myself _ in check—as long as kept my heart in the line. I-I thought all would be alright. I'm sorry ‘cause it took me so long to finally look into how you feel. It took me so long to realize because you gave me so much joy, you made me feel so giddy with your attention. I felt  _ loved _ and didn't realize sooner that I was in love with you. That… That was stupid of me, I'm sorry." Baekhyun held onto Chanyeol’s arm by the end of his confession, breathing heavily, and cheeks flushed with tears. Chanyeol could only stare at him in shock.

 

So vulnerable, raw, and honest. He felt his skin burning from all the emotions coursing through him.  _ Fuck. Baekhyun just said he was in love. _ Realizing this, Chanyeol's eyes widen and he turns his whole body to face the crying Baekhyun.

 

He’s still in disbelief, and his own heart is beating wildly. When he speaks, it’s breathy. "You  _ what _ ?"

 

He could be slow at times, but he’s mad about it now, especially when Baekhyun's crying.

 

"What do you mean  _ what _ ?" Baekhyun sniffles as he wipes at his now congested nose.

 

"I'm in love with you, Chanyeol. I'm sorry I was stupid enough to believe that friendship would be enough." Baekhyun explains with puffy red tear stained cheeks as he tries to decipher Chanyeol's dumbstruck expression.

 

"I—you… you  _ love  _ me?" Chanyeol feels out of breath just from the thought of Baekhyun reciprocating his feelings.

 

Seeing a wide-eyed overwhelmed Chanyeol, Baekhyun laughs and nods gleefully now that he's let out his feelings onto the table. 

 

"Yeah, I do. I love you." Baekhyun smiles forming moon crescents in his eyes, heart singing with joy when suddenly Chanyeol starts crying. 

 

Baekhyun’s heart sinks to his stomach as he helplessly watches the taller weep. "Hey, wha—why are you crying?" 

 

Baekhyun reaches a hand out to cup Chanyeol’s cheek, wiping away the tears with his thumb. "Please don't cry. I already told you I love you, didn’t I?"

 

With that said, Chanyeol brings Baekhyun into a tight hug and sobs onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry for making you cry. T-That night at Minseok’s, I was blinded by pain so I didn’t want to talk to you then. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry." 

 

Baekhyun strokes Chanyeol's hair comfortingly and chuckles. "I'm fine now, what’s important is that we’re both okay now." 

 

Chanyeol pulls away from the hug to press their foreheads together. "I love you."

 

Baekhyun smiles, eyes closed as he nuzzles his nose against Chanyeol's. "I love you too."

 

Then slowly, they lean into each other until their lips finally meet in a chaste kiss, gradually turning deeper as they try to convey all their emotions into the kiss.

 

Suddenly, there’s clapping behind them. They look towards the direction of the noise and finds Sehun cheering for the couple.

 

"Well, that was easy, wasn't it?" The maknae says as he smiles coyly at his annoyed hyungs.

 

"Sorry to break the moment but they're announcing the winners now so if you'd like to come…" Sehun trails off with a shrug and motions for the two to follow him back to their group.

 

They walk back hand in hand, swinging their intertwined fingers back and forth with bright smiles on their faces. 

 

Once they get back, Baekhyun chokes on his spit when he sees Jongin's arm around Kyungsoo’s waist, their heads leaning against each other. Jongin giving Kyungsoo a quick peck on his temple is what confirms what Baekhyun’s thinking.

 

"Oh my god, Kyungsoo,  _ finally _ !" Baekhyun throws a hand in the air as if in salute.

 

Kyungsoo eyes him weirdly and laughs. “Sorry, but  _ you  _ guys are the  _ finally  _ we’ve all been waiting for.”

 

The other members turn their attention at the other new couple, smiling when they see their hands intertwined and then congratulating them for ‘ _ finally coming to your senses _ ’. Chanyeol and Baekhyun can only smile sheepishly, the latter giving Chanyeol a shy, contented smile.  _ Finally indeed. _

  
  



End file.
